TOMBOLO ART MEDIA

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Just a Few of the Colorful Creationsin Anaya Leather's Vibrant Collection

I will go on record saying that hand-tooled
Mexican leather work is a highly underrated art form.When it's done well, it can be exciting.Oftentimes, you can find it, but the work is
not attributed to anyone.A Vancouver woman is branding herself as the source for traditional Mexican leather
work in Canada and turning it into an on-trend contemporary mainstream fashion business.

Thirty-four year-old Mexican-born
Johanna Anaya de Guevara is the brains behind Anaya Leather and Vibrant, a hand-chiseled and painted
handbags and accessories collection.Tired
of seeing the same old fashionable bags in dark and drab colors, Johanna
decided to create her own line reflecting who she is and the aesthetic she
wants to embody. She is building a considerable following in the Vancouver area
since her work has become available in established retail shops such as
Timeline Boutique in Gastown and A to Z on Robson Street.

Johanna Anaya de Guevara in Vancouver with Pieces from Her Vibrant Collection

While she may be new to
fashionistas, Johanna has a long history with leather.She began learning the art of leather working
as a child growing up in her native Leon, Guanajuato.The region has a rich history and is
internationally renown for its leather industry.Her blood runs rich with leather as well, since
her father was a shoemaker.Her
grandfather opened his first shoe "factory" in a small garage, where
he used to make handmade shoes with his sister.Within three years, his business grew, and he opened a larger factory in
which he even built his home. There, in Leon, a town where most school kids
were required to wear uniforms, he made shoes to match.

At the same time, Johanna's grandmother
ran a small leather work studio in the Central Bus Station (the Central
Camionera de Leon) where she would make leather clothing for a clientele
consisting of mostly Americans and Canadians who worked at the General Motors assembly
factory in town.

A product of a bilingual
education administered by nuns, an adolescent Johanna translated and became a
"Jill of All Trades" at age 13, cutting and burning threads, finishing
leather jackets, putting on snaps--anything that needed to be done. Along the way, she participated in large
leather trade shows in Leon
and also worked at a leather tannery for a year-and-a-half.

Finally, at 21, Johanna embarked
on a new adventure to Canada
to pursue college studies in Saskatchewan.She made her way there via Vancouver
and, as a result, fell in love with Western Canada.But school awaited, so she completed her studies
there and returned to Vancouver.
It was then that she met her soon-to-be husband, well-known Vancouver visual effects guy, Georgia
Straight illustrator, and fine artist Krystian Guevara.

One of Anaya Leather's Hand-Chiseled Laptop Bags

When it comes to product
development at Anaya Leather, Johanna is involved in every step from her Vancouver studio--from conceptualizing
and drawing a sketch of the piece to outlining which graphic will be
added.Once she is satisfied with the
look, she selects the perfect piece of leather. For her first collection, she utilized
vegetable-tanned leather (the best type of leather on which to carve, stamp or
use a chisel).

One of Anaya Leather's Mexican ArtisansHard at Work on a Handbag

When all the designing is
complete, specifications are sent off to Mexico where the magic begins.Before local artisans begin carving, the
leather must be completely wet.A metal plaque
is used to mark the outlines where the planned design will be carved.Afterwards, several stamping tools and a mallet complete
the design.It is then left to dry
before it is painted with German water based dyes.The final steps involve sewing the pieces
together and applying one last finish.In the case of Johanna's handbags, it can take many hours of labor to
get the final product to look just right.

It would be impossible to deny
the Latino influence in her work. After all, that is her background and she is
proud of her heritage. Her handbags, wallets, coin purses and more showcase the
brightest color palette--from orange to yellow to fuchsia, green and
turquoise--an extension of Johanna's sunny disposition.Her positivity and love for life, family and
other people around her almost radiates from her work elevating her pieces from
fined-tuned craft to art.

"People love my handbags, I
think, because they make you stand out instantly in a crowd," she says.

And while she is positive about
the direction her life has taken, moving to Canada
and leaving her family in Mexico
was always a point of sadness.

"The most challenging part was
saying goodbye to my family," she explains. "Mexico is a
very traditional and family-oriented country. So, it made it even more difficult
to leave," Johanna says of her early days in Canada. Even in recent years she
experienced homesickness.

For years, she traveled back and
forth between Canada and Mexico visiting
her family. After her father died following a four-and-a-half year battle with
Leukemia, she brought her mother to Vancouver
to live with her.

Even though she has built a
successful business that has received very positive coverage from some top Vancouver media outlets,
it didn't happen overnight.Her family
has always been a priority with her entrepreneurial ventures taking second
position in her life. When her children were young, she wanted to be sure to
stay home with them to savor those moments that no parent ever gets back if
they miss them.Between motherhood and
life, she diligently took courses, such as sewing and pattern making at VancouverCommunity College, which would help her
achieve her business goals. After that she bought her first sewing machine and
began applying what she had learned in class to what she already knew about
leather.Later, she enrolled in a screen
printing class at Emily Carr.It took
ten years, but her business was finally ready to get off the ground.

Johanna Anaya de Guevara is
inspirational because she is the perfect example of what a person can achieve
when their mind and heart are fully engaged in making it happen. Her passion
translates into a beautiful collection of work that ranges in price from $20 for
a small leather coin purses all the way up to $300 for a large leather tote
bag. Now that her e-commerce site is up
and running at www.anayaleather.com, for a limited time, Johanna is offering
from 50-70%off of all of her
handbags.Fashionistas can shop online
or contact Johanna directly.

While her handbags are made in Mexico, she and
her husband have created a new special line of customized leather wallets for
men and women. La Vida es Bella (www.lveb.ca) includes pieces that are simple,
elegant, classic and well-constructed with exquisite satin linings.The couple is involved in every facet of
production of the wallets-- from dying the vegetable-tanned leather, to cutting
it and stitching it all together.They
will even personalize the pieces with names, initials--almost any personal
touch a client wants.The sister brand
to the Anaya label continues to grow and they hope to add an even wider array
of designs to its offerings.

So what does the future hold for
Anaya Leather?Johanna Anaya de Guevara
eventually hopes to offer her customers distinctive leather furniture and
leather trunks. No matter how big the company gets, however, one thing remains
certain--its owner will never forget how she got where she is and the level of
dedication it took. So, if you live in 'RainCity'
and decide to buy a special handmade piece from Anaya Leather, listen for your
doorbell.That ringing may just be Johanna
hand-delivering your package since she loves to get to know each and every one
of her customers.

About Me

I am the uncle of a smart-as-a-whip 11 year-old. While she amazes me most of the time, I am also amazed and inspired by art everywhere. This blog is intended to help build awareness of cool people, places and events that inspire me. If you would like me to write about your event, feel free to email me at unclepauliesworld "at" hotmail "dot" com.